Re: Verse reading–Psalm 119:9-16; Acts 17:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day two)
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
I read a lot. Sometimes I find that when I read my mind is cleared up to think and dream and discover. C.S. Lewis said that you don’t really know a book until you’ve read it again, and again. Although I keep buying books, I am drawn back to those that really speak to me. Passages are highlighted, notes are written into the margin, and pages are dog-eared. If you listen closely to my daily conversations those same passages make their way into my speech. My thoughts become transformed by what my mind has consumed. Isn’t that what the Psalmist was saying? Hiding these truths in our hearts will transform our minds. Our love of Scripture is as much protection as it is instruction. The beauty of reading a good book again is that each time I have aged some, grown some and therefore the story impacts me differently. When I read scripture it affects me in a similar fashion. Each time I read the Word, God reveals a new truth to me that I didn’t see before. Keep that treasure stored well!
Author: Aaron Hufty
Aaron Hufty is the Associate Pastor for Worship and Music at FBCSA.
Many Waters
Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 10:18-19, 11:22-23; 40:1-2; 43:1-9 (day two).
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:2 ESV) Last week we read how the Lord breathed the breath of life into the dry bones. The Spirit of God moved among them and filled them with life by the sweet life-giving breath. Now he speaks with a different voice. Have you stood on the beach and heard the mighty roar of the ocean before? Unrelenting, powerful, unequalled. He still speaks, but which voice will get our attention?
Now Hear the Word of the Lord!
Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 37:1-14 (day two)
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stoop up on their feet. Ezekiel 37:10
Is there a better description of salvation than this passage? The imagery throughout is vivid and tangible. Everyone of us has seen a skeleton and we all recognize that it is about as far from life as you can be. How different is that from our own lives before God breathes into us His Spirit? We are wasting away with no true life in us. All of us are a shell waiting to be filled, and canvas with no paint. Then a miracle happens, God by his own design and mercy breathes life into us, and we can then stand and have substance where there was none before. Aren’t you thankful for Ezekiel obedience to prophesy to skeletons? As you look out into the world consider how very similar it is to that valley of bones. But there is a breath of life waiting to give us all flesh.
Prone to Wander
Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 20:1-32 (day two)
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
If reading the account of the people of Israel shows anything it is that we have a penchant to sin, and the God continually shows us grace. No matter how often we are set on a path of blessing and fulfillment, when we get comfortable, we become ungrateful. Our hearts wander from the source of all blessings. There is a just answer to our sin, and that is judgement and death, but God through Jesus has provided for us victory. My prayer today is to not become comfortable in our blessing, but refined by the renewing Grace of God.
Standing On Our Own
Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 18:1-18 (day two)
Each year when I was in the classroom I would meet young people with varying degrees of baggage (spiritual, physical, emotional, etc.). And the more I got to know each of them and their personal stories, I realized much of what they brought to the table was somehow inherited. Like it or not the consequences of our sin will impact our children. It was always disheartening to see the damage parental choices cause their children. But there is another side to that story. I would often see children who were not encumbered by those choices. Young men and women who realized the folly of their parent’s decision and pledged to take a different path. Their journeys were often more difficult than others, but they understood the reward more clearly than anyone else. This is the promise in Ezekiel and thanks be to God that we are no longer condemned by the sins of our parents. God has given each of us a place to stand and choose which path we will take.
Ezekiel Saw De Wheel
Re: Verse reading–Ezekiel 1:28-3:4 (day two)
Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. (Ezekiel 1:15, 16 ESV)
Ezekiel saw de wheel, way up in the middle of the air
In the next few weeks will encounter the ministry of the Prophet Ezekiel and you will quickly recognize some of the texts as being the inspiration for African American Spirituals. As we conclude our journey through Jeremiah you might think this a curious choice for inspiration. Exile, suffering, dark chapters, but then again what better place to find hope. Slaves who had been removed from all they knew and loved, treated with contempt and lower than animals found solace in the words of these prophets. They saw how God, though having a hard word for the Israelites, always watched over them.
If a people with such a bleak and tragic worldview could find hope in these stories, can’t we?
Buy a Field
Re: Verse reading–Jeremiah 31:27-34; 32:1-15 (day two)
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “planes to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope, and a future.” Jer. 29:11
This was not a vain or empty promise that the Lord made just a few chapters earlier, and Jeremiah was willing to claim those words and put his faith into action. Throughout these dark days of exile and the hard words of rebuke, the Lord has always provided a word or restoration. It often meant a complete rejection of the lives they were living. What kind of a prophet would Jeremiah have been if he did not take God at his word? I’ve talked to financial planners who say that the best time to buy is when the market is down. Things may look grim, but when it turns around you will reap the harvest of your investment.
Perhaps is the wrong prayer
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 21:1-10, 38:1-6 (day two)
“Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders of us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us” Jer. 21:2
Perhaps?
How are you treating your conversations with God? Do you approach him with fear and reverence or on the off chance that it might “work” to ask? There is more history involved with this story of exile and captivity, but much can be gleaned from the callow way the people treated the Lord. They acknowledged that God had indeed performed great and mighty deeds for them in the past, but they were unwilling to concede that their hearts were hardened. Don’t treat God like a last resort, it may keep you from exile and captivity in the first place.
The Welfare of the City
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day two)
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 ESV) This passage has brought me much strength as I have studied it. We often quote 29:11, and most of us truly believe that God has hope for those who trust in him. Isn’t this commission a wonderful challenge? We may be walking in exile; deliverance may be years off; the world around us may be very dark indeed. Fear not! God has an assignment while we wait. Plug in. Get involved. Make a difference where you are. Stop waiting for that “someday” to arrive and get on mission now. What a great passage for us as we consider how to minister to this community. As we seek to go and foster healthy relationships with our city, we are helping to create the foothold that the Lord will use. What a privilege to serve, even in the midst of an exile.
Word of God, Across the Ages
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 36 (day two)
The power of the written Word has always been a great strength of our faith. In this chapter we read of the Lord commanding Jeremiah to write it all down. The Lord knew that these words would have great impact on those who read them, then and now. The prophet Isaiah writes: “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is. 55:11) It is troubling then to read of the king’s reaction upon hearing the scroll read back to him. Ultimately, however, whose name do you know better the Prophet Jeremiah who was obedient to the Lord, or King Jehoiakim the irreverent man who burned the scrolls? God’s Word is a powerful tool. Perhaps this is also a motivation to use to continue to write down the things the Lord speaks to us. We may never share them as the prophets or apostles did, but we can gain strength from re-reading how God continues to speak into our lives.